I am Thankful.

this lovely quilt was given to me by a volunteer that I work with.

Every year, at Thanksgiving; my step-family gets in a big ‘ol circle, hold hands, says a prayer and then each person shares what we are thankful for. I used to dread this tradition because I could never seem to think of just the right thing to say, and I was a little shy (That side of my family is HUGE). Now, that I am older and I see that yet another family holiday is being turned into marketing scheme, a reason to spend money; I see the value in this little tradition. It’s important in an era of “I want” and “I need” to reflect on what you do have; and what you are thankful for.

I am thankful for:

• Health insurance which allows me to afford the drugs that will cure my Hepatitis C.
• My Daddy, who gives the best hugs in the whole wide world and who I will always call Daddy.
• Tommy, who can make me laugh, even while I am crying.
• My Seester because she sings me songs and sends my sad-face high fives when I am having a bad day.
• My big sister, who is my constant cheerleader and is coming over to help with laundry on Sunday, (bless her).
• My friends, who send me cards to cheer me up and always have my back, no matter what. (Shout out to Christy, Cathleen and Stephy for being particularly awesome.)
• My Momma, for being the emergency giver of rides, and the person who comes over when I am by myself .and experiencing crazy side effects.
• My job, because I have one and because I enjoy it.
• My co-workers and volunteers who have been especially supportive and thoughtful.
• Miss Taden for her I am so happy to see you smile, her nightly snuggles and her happy tail.

If I was never diagnosed with Hepatitis C, I would still be grateful for all these things; but I don’t think that I would really know just how grateful I was or how wonderful these things and people are. Even in the things that try to wreck us, or make us weak. There are blessings. You just have to know where to look.

I wish all of you a happy, healthy, safe and blessed Thanksgiving.

Exciting June!

 I cannot believe that it has been almost a month since I have posted anything here. June has been a crazy whirlwind of a month! Allow me to elaborate:

·         I turned the big 3-0. People made bad jokes including the phrases “dirty and flirty” my friends from college came out to celebrate with me and my not from college but still awesome friends. We cooed at babies, drooled over my new Kitchen Aid mixer, did crossword puzzles and drank a lot less than we used to because, ya know, we’re old.

Me and the BFF at my birthday party

·         I went to my twin sister’s surprise birthday party all the way in Indiana and made her cry. Making her cry is my chief goal in life and boy was I full of win that day. Then came the awkward moment when my family tried to add “and Melissa” to the part of the song that goes: “Happy birthday Dear Angela”. Even though it was her party and not our actual birthday. Luckily, we are pretty used to sharing, but she should have thrown cake at me and screamed, “This is my day, B!@$* because that would have be waaay more entertaining.

My Sister and I at her Surprise Party

·         I attended two weddings. I’d like to think that I inspired both since the couples were all there for my big day and who wouldn’t want a wedding after that? In all seriousness they were beautiful and tons of fun. As you can see, my family and I were very excited to attend.

OMG weddings are Awesome!

·         My sister came to visit, and I actually got to spend time with her. My husband bonded with my nieces and nephews which he immediately regretting after he picked them some fresh raspberries from the bush in our yard and discovered the poison ivy… the hard way.

I also entered a writing contest. More specifically, the Simply Stated Blogger Contest and was selected as a finalist! (Trust me; I am as shocked as you are.) If I win I will get a chance to blog over at Simply Stated for a month and receive a $1,000 dollar cash prize. I dunno about you, but I think mainstream media needs a little more disability perspective (Plus, $1,000 never hurt anyone).  You can read and vote for my entry here!

July is shaping up to be a lot calmer and so I plan to get back on a regular writing schedule soon. I have a few fun ideas rolling around in my defective little brain. So stay tuned. It’s about to get crazy, but not too crazy. I have to be in bed by ten.

My Occupational Therapist Would Be So Proud.

The new, trendy, hip thing in wedding planning is to not have anything hip or trendy. Gone are the days of identically perfect centerpieces, matching table wear and stuffy, overly formal dinners. Most of the blogs I come across feature weddings with a whimsical feel where things are less formal and stuffy and much more fun. There are brides serving lemonade in mason jars, luggage tags are being substituted as guest books and that first dance is becoming more and more entertaining. (This one happens to be my favorite, but it won’t be featured at my wedding. Tom is terrified enough of the spotlight.)

All of this means that weddings can be a lot of fun and can cost a lot less since creating things yourself allows you to put a unique twist on even the most overdone aspects of your wedding. DIY does come with its own sets of problems though, especially when you have a disability like mine which effects fine motor control. However, I refuse to let my disability hamper my frugality. No matter how long it takes or what level of hell I am driven to, I refuse to pay for things I feel can be done myself.

That being said, I have limited my DIY projects to centerpieces, favors, bridesmaids gifts and invitations. For the record, I have not actually done or plan to do some of these things myself; I recruited my artsy friends and family. This is not cheating. This is practical and brilliant.

We decided on the centerpieces early on. The plan was to create wreaths out of grapevines, which grow free and in massive quantities on Tom’s parent's property; then decorate them with artificial flowers purchased on sale and out of season. The wreaths will go around a vase filled with water and floating candles.

My soon to be Mother-in-Law has been collecting the grapevines and this weekend I went over to her house to help make some of the wreaths. At first, I was hopeless at it; my fingers and my brain were not cooperating and my vines just wouldn’t stay twisted. But eventually I got the hang of it and in one afternoon we cranked out about half of what we needed.

I took one home and weaved in some of the flowers to get an idea of the final product:

Not bad eh? I think I might look for some blue to serve as an accent color. I am pretty pleased with our first DIY project. I really wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it but as usual patience and perseverance paid off. I think they will look very nice at the wedding. I can even give them away as keepsake to the really special people.

It’s easy to get carried away with DIY, so here are a few tips that I am learning/accepting along the way: Remember that you don’t want it to end up costing you more then it would to buy something outright. Purchase items at a discount early on, or borrow items from other people to keep the cost low. Keep in mind that what something costs is not just the price but also what it cost you emotionally. Don’t take on a huge project alone. Asking for help might be hard but it will save you sanity. Plus doing things with other people is a lot more fun than DIY.